Ava (Roberts) Ward passed away peacefully at her residence in Houston on Sept. 30, 2009, at the age of 102.

Ava Viola Roberts, born in the foothills of the Ozarks in Lawrence County on March 14, 1907, was the eighth and youngest child of George and Margaret Graham Roberts. Her mother died when she was 5 years old, and she often spoke fondly of the loving care given to her by her stepmother, Ada Goff Roberts. She attended elementary school at Strawberry, where she completed the eighth grade twice rather than entering high school because of the common belief at the time that young women didn’t need additional schooling.

Ava married Floyd Ervin Ward, son of Alexander and Iona Little Ward, on the grounds of Mount Harmony Free Will Baptist Church on Aug. 14, 1922. They traveled to Santa Paula, Calif., that fall but returned to Strawberry in 1925 to farm and await the birth of their first child.
Ava and Floyd had three children, all born in Strawberry  Herman Ward, who died suddenly when he was 9 years old; her loving daughter, DeLoyce Ward Hathway; and her devoted son, Calvin Herbert Ward. Ava grieved the loss of her firstborn throughout her life.
After the death of their son Herman, Floyd and Ava moved back in 1936 to Santa Paula, where he worked with distinction as a county agricultural inspector. Ava was employed in the citrus packaging industry, but mostly cherished her role as a homemaker for her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Her husband Floyd died in 1993 at the age of 88.

Caring for her grandchildren was a joy in Avas life. Nannie always encouraged and supported their interests while instilling old-fashioned values to guide them though life. She was highly skilled in the homemaking arts ranging from specially designed and handmade quilts for each child to festive family dinners, preserved fruits and vegetables, gardening, landscaping and accomplished dressmaking.
Ava loved and admired her brothers and sisters, remained close to them as well as their children and traveled long distances to be with them. Her siblings children remember their Aunt Ava as a strong woman with vitality, always attractively dressed, who remained close to her hill country roots both in speech and conversation. Along with members of her birth family, she also remained close to her husbands dear brothers and sisters and their children.
Ava was devoted to her local Free Will Baptist Church, where she and her husband were lifetime members, and to the Republican Party, for which she served on election boards for many years.

Although her husband Floyd died in 1993, Ava frequently mentioned him in her conversations. A few years after her husbands death, Ava moved to Houston to live near her son and daughter-in-law in an assisted living home. The caregivers at Colonial Oaks speak fondly of Ms. Ava and her desire to help with the younger residents, whom she referred to as the children. The Ward family is deeply indebted to the loving caregivers at Colonial Oaks for helping to make Ava’s last years healthful and enjoyable.

Funeral services, guided by Pastor Stanley Vandergrift and music directed by Gary Whitlow, will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday in the Free Will Baptist Church, 444 Arkansas 25, Saffell, followed by burial in Little Jerusalem Cemetery (west side of the road), Jerusalem Road, Arkansas 25, Strawberry.

A reception will follow at the Free Will Baptist Church in Saffell arranged and catered by Kirk and Patti Ward. Pallbearers will be Kirk Ward, Peter Ward, Joel Ward, Matthew Hathway, Kristopher Ward and Brandon Ward. Sep 2009

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